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Public Participation Creates Recovery Projects

BISMARCK, N.D. -- More affordable housing and further shopping options, downtown redevelopment and additional green spaces, a revitalized zoo and better communications with Canada on water issues, were among the hundreds of ideas that emerged from three community open houses held Sept. 19-24 in Minot and Burlington.

More than 500 area residents attended meetings, during which they had an opportunity to quiz long-term recovery experts, view display boards on various long-term recovery topics and write comments or suggestions on yellow sticky notes about how they would like their communities to look and feel five to 15 years from now and beyond.

More than 2,300 suggestions were posted, many with multiple ideas and comments. FEMA’s Long-Term Recovery Team is currently sorting through those comments – as well as multiple interviews carried out in Minot and Ward County since July – to identify potential long-term community recovery projects.

The next step is a series of three October meetings during which potential recovery projects, identified by the public in previous meetings, will be presented back to the community. Residents will be asked to prioritize which projects are of highest importance to the area – Minot, Burlington and all downstream sub-divisions and communities. American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters will be present at the meeting.

Residents can arrive whenever they like during the open houses and stay for as long as they like. There will be no speeches or microphones. The results of these prioritization meetings will inform the development of the Souris Basin Regional Recovery Plan. A draft of this regional plan will be presented to the community in early November.

In facilitating the public participation, a specialized long-term community recovery team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working closely with county and state officials, community leaders, chambers of commerce and the local business community to shape the area’s long-term recovery strategy. The team’s mission is to assist qualified disaster-impacted communities in planning their long-term strategy and to assist in identifying potential sources of funding.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.